adverb vs. adjective

[Lenka]

Thanks for the explanation! :)

[BobK]

People who have only recently grasped the difference between an adverb and an adjective may find some words confusing, because although looking like adverbs (ending -ly) they are adjectives. There are three ways to respond to this confusion:

1) celebrate the difference, and use these words as often as possible, however obscure they may be

2) replace the words with a less confusing option: some people avoid words like 'lonely' and say 'lonesome' instead ( I suspect 'lonesome' is more common in AmE than it is here)

3) let such words fall into disuse: comely, shapely, poorly (the adjective), curmudgeonly are, I'd guess, less common now than they were a few generations ago; some only survive because of a fossilized collocation - such as 'comely wench' (well-endowed young woman)

This leaves a few words that are still common: lovely and leisurely spring to mind.

b